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The interns and the veteran journalist: What they learned at lunch

That means one important thing for managers in The Oklahoman's newsroom.

Interns are here.

We love it when the interns are here. They bring energy. They bring ideas, and on their first day of orientation, there's often a free lunch.

This year, the interns lucked out. There was lunch, sure, but The Oklahoman's veteran correspondent in Washington D.C. was in Oklahoma City and was able to speak to the group of young journalists.

Chris Casteel

Chris Casteel has been working in D.C. for more than 25 years, covering Oklahoman's delegation at the nation's capital. He told the 2015 group of interns about his experiences and how he's grown as a reporter over the years.

He was asked a great question: What's the favorite story he's covered?

Chris said for most of his career, his answer was his coverage of the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991. I remember those hearings well. The interns did not — and that did not make me feel very young.

But Chris said now his favorite story is his coverage of U.S. Army Spc. 4 Donald P. Sloat of Coweta.

Sloat was 20, a month away from his 21st birthday.

The interns were lucky to hear from Chris in person.

But I was lucky, too. While listening, I looked up his story from our archives.

Alan Herzberger is the Vice President of Audience Development at The Oklahoman Media Company. He focuses on digital strategies for The Oklahoman and for NewsOK.com. He’s been with The Oklahoman since 1997, when he joined the sports department....
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